Come Back To Me
by xconcretegirl
Summary: Set in the 1940's during World War 2, Edward and Bella are young and in love, planning their wedding, when the war interrupts. Edward is heading off to war. Bella doesn't know what to do without him, and will Edward make it back? AH/AU.
1. Summer 1941

**a/n: This was a new idea of mine that I had last night. And I just kind of ran with it. Once I got the idea to a more historic piece with Edward and Bella...well it seemed like the perfect idea. This is the kind of person I see Edward as, and I can just see Bella fitting in with this perfectly. There's a few minor changes to the characters that I did on purpose, like Alice is older than Edward, etc.**

Also please note that I am definitely no expert on World War 2. I only know what I learned in school, well I don't remember much of it. Most of this info is from wikipedia, so if I got anything wrong, or anything doesn't seem quite right, sorry, I'm trying! And I have it so Edward, Emmett and Jasper all joined the military by choice, so they'd be leaving before there was a draft or anything.

Anyway, enjoy. :]

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just playing with them for a little while. 

Prologue

I could feel the strength of his arms around me, and his lips as they kissed my hair. He held me tighter than usual, as if he was protecting me from something.

I moved closer to him, putting my head against his chest and inhaling his scent, warm, comforting. Edward. He was mine, my everything. And I never wanted to let to go.

"I don't want to leave you," he murmured.

_And I don't want you to leave me. _"You don't have a choice."

"I know."

"Promise me something," I said, my voice turning pleading.

"Anything."

"Come back. Come back to me, Edward."

Chapter 1.

It was a beautiful day in Forks, Washington. The sun was shinning-a rare occurrence here-and the sky was a beautiful shade of blue. It was warmer than usual, but a cool breeze drifted around us, keeping it at a pleasant temperature.

It would have been a perfect day, really. My best friends and I were sitting on the porch outside of my house, enjoying the weather while we talked. And it would have been great, except Alice Whitlock insisted on talking about the wedding. My wedding.

"What kind of flowers do you want, Bella?" she asked, her notebook sitting on her lap, her pen in her hand as she attacked the wedding plans with her usual enthusiam. Nevermind that she was six months pregnant, she was just as bubbly as ever.

I frowned. "Didn't we agree to letting you plan the wedding...so I wouldn't have to do anything?" I questioned. Problem was, I just didn't know what I wanted. I was never one of those girls that had a picture in their head of their dream wedding. I had never even really thought about it. Even when I had fallen in love with Edward, even when he had proposed, I still hadn't really thought about the wedding.

She smiled. "Well, yes, but I want to make sure it's what you want," she explained patiently.

Rosalie Hale, sitting in between Alice and I, smiled. She had a folded up piece of paper in her hand and was using it to fan her face. "I don't think Bella knows what she wants. or cares. She just wants to marry Edward. And besides, we know any wedding you do will be gorgeous, Alice. Just like mine was, just like yours was."

"Exactly!" I agreed, grateful.

Alice smiled. It was easy to win her over with flattery for her designs. "They were pretty great, weren't they? Okay, well, how about lilies? You like those, right?"

"Sure," I shrugged. "That sounds nice."

She nodded, scribbling on her notebook. After a minute she finished writting and set it down on the table, resting her hands on her growing stomach. "Just think, one more month and you'll be married."

"Yep," I agreed, trying not to sound terrified. I wasn't afraid to spend forever with Edward, no that part I was sure about, but the whole wedding and marriage thing did. And then there was the very real and close fear that they would have to leave to fight in the war...

"It'll be great, you and Edward will be so happy together," Alice smiled. Edward was her younger brother.

The Cullen's were our next store neighbors, and I had known Edward my entire life. He was two years older than I, but we had been the youngest on the street, and with our parents' being best friends, the two of us had played together often. I used to follow the Cullen boys-Emmett and Edward-around, joining in ball games and climbing trees and all that stuff, while dodging Alice's offers of tea parties and dress up whenever I had the chance. I had been a total tomboy, out to prove to them that I was just as tough as they were. Eventually I had gotten older and my mother-who was a bit exasperated that her only child and daughter was such a tomboy-had discouraged my playing with them, and I had begun to hang out more with Alice, and her friend-our neighbor on the other side-Rosalie Hale.

Two years ago Edward, Emmett and Alice's husband, Jasper h, had joined the military. They had gone off for their training together. They'd come back a few months later, and all of us, my family, the Hale's, and the Cullen's had gone to the train to met them. I was almost seventeen, and I'd been wearing my favorite blue dress. I stood back and watched my friends as they paced anticipation for their boyfriend and fiancee to get off the train. I had felt a little awkward, really, waiting for them, even though I wasn't related to any of them. I merely went along to support my friends and because our families-the Swan's, the Hale's and the Cullen's, considered ourselves all family.

Jasper had gotten off the train first. He was tall and blond and from the South, and his eyes had flown straight to Alice as he'd caught sight of us. As he got off they had met each other half way, and he'd swung her around in the air, kissing her before he'd come to say hello to the rest of us. Emmett's reunion had been much the same, though he'd only kissed Rosalie, murmured something in her ear and turned to hug his little sister and his mother. Edward had been the last off the train. My eyes had widened as I saw him. Edward had always been an extremely good looking boy, but now he was man, having visibly aged in his time in the military. Any roundness in his face was gone, and his face was harder. And he was handsome. Make-your-knees-melt, swooning handsome. My heart had been pounding in my chest as he stepped off the train, in his army greens. He smiled at everyone, going over to hug his mother, Esme, and then Alice. And then he had turned to me, his stunning green eyes meeting mine, and then he had hugged me. "Nice to see you, Bella," he had murmured, and I was sure that my heart was about to burst open.

The next weekend our families had gotten together for Sunday dinner. We had eaten outside-since there wasn't enough room for everyone in one house-and Edward had sat down next to me, keeping up a friendly conversation while we had eaten.

"You've changed," he informed me.

And I knew I had. "So have you."

He chuckled. "Probably so, but not for the better. You, however, are even more beautiful than you were when I left."

I wanted to tell him that he too, had changed for the better, but I was two stunned by what he had said. Edward thought I was beautiful? And he had said "even more than you were when I left." He had thought I was beautiful even then?

Of course Mike Newton had to show up right then, asking if I'd like to go for a walk with him, like he did nearly every Sunday. I had seen Edward's disgust on his face when I had accepted the offer-to be polite-and that made me smile. He was jealous.

I liked Mike just fine...he was cute and nice and could be funny. But something about him remined me of a golden retreiver, he was just...so eagar, and just...not right for me.

When I had gotten back from the walk he'd approached me again. "Is that your boyfriend?" he asked me, looking afraid of the answer.

I smiled. "Mike Newton? No. He's very nice...but not my...type."

There was a hint of a smile on his face. "But you are dating him?"

"No. Not anymore. I told him. "I told him that it wasn't working...and not to come by anymore."

Now he had smiled, a big wide smile that showed off his perfect white teeth.

The next Sunday he had offered me a walk, and things had gone from there. It hadn't taken long for us to realize we were in love. We were perfect for each other. He was everything I'd ever dreamed of...and so much more. Almost a year ago he had proposed, got down on his knee on this very porch and asked me to marry him.

"We will," I agreed with Alice, brushing a stray lock of brown hair from my eyes.

She grinned at me. "Speaking of which..." she trailed off and I looked up to see Edward walking towards us. Work was over, Edward was home. I stood up, walking down the stairs to meet him. He took me in his arms and kissed my forehead. "Hello, love," he murmured into my ear.

I could burst of happiness. "Did you have a good day?"

"It was fine." he shrugged. "How about you?"

"It was terrible, Alice keeps asking me about _wedding plans." _I said with mock horror, grinning in Alice's direction.

She rolled her eyes. "Nice, Bella. You'd better be a little more grateful. If it wasn't for me you guys might get stuck getting married at the courthouse or something," she threatened. She was teasing, but I could still hear the real threat in her voice for the last part. Alice probably couldnt imagine anything worse than us being married at city hall.

I laughed and Edward grinned, putting his arm around my shoulders.

"Are you coming for dinner tonight?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Of course, Bella. I'm gonna run home and clean up a bit first, though. I'll see you in a few," he kissed my cheek and smiled, heading towards his house next door.

"Well, I guess that's our cue," Alice said, standing up. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, thanks for coming over, Al. You too, Rose."

Rosalie smiled. "Bye Bella."

I headed into the house, murmuring to my mother that I would be down to help with dinner a minute, and ran up to my room to clean up as well. I splashed water on my face and took my hair down, running a brush through it and leaving it down and heading back down the stairs.

I helped Mom set the table and finish dinner. We had just finished when I heard a knock on the door and I went to answer it. Edward was standing there, smiling, but it looked forced. His eyes seemed darker than usual, cloudier. Worried. Something was wrong.

I wanted to ask what was wrong, but he came in. "Smells great," he complimented, loud enough for my Mom to hear.

The door opened again and my father came in, in his police uniform. He greeted me, pressing a kiss to my hair and nodded to Edward, then went to say hello to Mom.

"What's wrong?" I whispered to Edward.

He shook his head. "It's nothing, Bella."

He wasn't convincing me, but he obviously didn't want to talk about it, so I said nothing further.

We all sat down for dinner. As usual, it was mostly talk about the war in Germany... I frowned and stared at my plate, trying to ignore the fear gnawing away at me. I knew that it was only a matter of time before Edward went to fight. We liked to pretend that that wasn't going to happen, that he'd be able to stay here, to stay with me, but I knew that it would happen, sooner or later. At this point I was just hoping it was later....

Even Edward didn't seem as into the discussion as usual. He still looked worried, distant, and that worried me even more.

"Want to go for a drive?" he asked me when dinner was over and I had helped Mom clean up.

"Sure," I agreed, grabbing my sweater and shrugging into it. Dad told me to be back by ten, like usual, and I smiled as I agreed. I would be married in a mouth and they still gave me a curfew. It didn't bother me, instead I found it amusing.

Edward was waiting at the door for me, and he held it open while I walked through. Outside he grabbed my hand and we walked next store, to his car. He held my door while I got in, and then headed out of town, on the usual route we took when we went on a drive.

We were quiet for a long time. We were usually comfortable with silence but today it seemed to be pounding in my ears, taunting me.

"Tell me what happened," I insisted stubbornly.

He sighed, looking at me, and then glancing quickly away. "I don't know how to tell you this, Bella...but well...when I went home to clean up for dinner, there was a letter waiting for me. And for Emmett...we're going to England, Bella."

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it. I'm having fun writing this, if nothing else. I don't know how soon updates will be...I'm hoping to put out about one a week or so, maybe more if I'm not too busy and not experiencing writers block. Reviews are love.**


	2. Relentless

Chapter 2.

"What? No, b-but..." I stuttered out, tears forming in my brown eyes. My thoughts were all over the place, too hard to manage. Only one sentence was fully formed. _Edward is leaving. Edward is leaving. _

He turned onto the shoulder, putting the car into park and then slid over to me, putting his arms around me. I buried my head into his chest, letting my tears fall. He ran his hands through my hair, murmuring to me in a comforting tone. I instantly felt bad, he was the one who would be leaving, this was _his _fate that was up in the air, I should be the one comforting him, not the other way around, but I couldn't stop crying to do that.

"Is Emmett and Jasper...?" I finally found the strength to ask, and it hurt even worse thinking that they would be leaving too. _Rosalie and Alice... _I knew how they'd be feeling right now...

He nodded, his eyes hard to read.

Another round of tears.

"When?" I was afraid to ask.

"A month."

A month. That was so soon... "What about our wedding?"

He sighed, dragging his hand through his bronze hair. "I don't know, love. Maybe we can make it earlier. We'll figure something."

"We have to get married before you leave," I demanded lightly. What if he never came home? We needed to get married now.

He nodded. "We will, Bella."

I nodded, and put my head against his chest again. There was so much to take in....so much to think about....

"I'll be all right, love. Really...it's good that we enlisted when we did...we'll have all right jobs, we probably won't even be in the fighting..."

That didn't really make it a whole lot better, but I said nothing, realizing that he was reassuring himself, just as much as he was me.

"You'll be okay," I murmured. It came out sounding like a question, or maybe a request.  
I felt his arms tighten around me. "I will. It'll be all right, Bella."

I nodded, looking up at him through the tears in my eyes. "It will be," I tried to convince myself.

He kissed my hair and we sat like that for a long time.

---

When Edward dropped me off outside my house, I was sure I looked terrible. My brown hair was falling out of the bun I had put in earlier, my hair falling around my shoulders. My cheeks were red, my eyes bloodshot from the crying. I couldn't make my mouth turn into a smile, even though I tried, for my parents sake.

I knew they would know something was wrong the moment I walked inside, and I would have to tell them. I would have to say the words out loud and know they were true, that they were really happening. Edward was leaving.

So I hesitated outside the door, trying to put it off as long as I could. I watched Edward park his car in front of his house next store, and head inside. He would tell them now, I knew.

Well, if Edward could go tell his entire family, I could certainly tell mine. I turned the doorknob and let myself in. Who knew, maybe my parents would have already off up to bed, and I wouldn't have to see them until the morning.

"Where have you been, Bella? It's so much later than you usually..." Mom's voice came from the kitchen, her words trailing off as she saw me, taking in my expression. "What's wrong?" her voice was soft, but serious.

I bit my lip, trying to stop tears before they fell. "Mom..." I choked the word out.

Her eyes lit up with worry, and she moved over to hug me. I leaned my head against her shoulder. I needed someone to cry on. I felt bad crying in front of Edward, when he had so little control over what was going on. I was sure it just made him feel that much worse.

"What's wrong, Bells?" Mom asked after I had cried out the worst of the tears, and my body had mostly stopped shaking.

"It's Edward..." I hated to say it out loud. I hoped she would put the pieces together without me having too, but she just looked at me with an expectant look, waiting for me to finish my sentence.

"He's leaving, Mom. In a month," I barely whispered the words and my lips trembled as I spoke.

"Oh, Bella," Mom said, hugging me again. She smoothed my hair back from my face, holding me as I started to cry again. "I'm so sorry, Bella."

"What's wrong?" Dad came down the staircase, his eyes on us.

I pulled away from Mom, wiping tears away with a shaky hand. I could feel Dad's eyes on me, waiting for me to explain. But saying it out loud once was quite enough. "I'm going to bed," I muttered instead, walking past my parents and then practically running up the stairs to my room. I shut the door behind me, hoping that neither of them would come up after me to talk and try to comfort me. I couldn't deal with that, I didn't want to talk about it.

I tossed my shoes off, leaving them laying in the middle of the room, and laid down on my bed, burying my face into a pillow.

It was really amazing that I still had this many tears left. I had been crying since I had gotten the news, you'd think I would have cried every tear I had.

Eventually they did subside, and all that was left was wet, sticky, red cheeks, and a pain in my chest that felt like there was a gaping hole-right through my heart. It was hard to breathe, just thinking about it.

_Edward's leaving. Edward's leaving. _I couldn't derail my train of thought, no matter what I tried to think about instead. The two words were relentless, playing over and over again in my head.

Edward was leaving. And he might not come back.

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A/N: Short chapter, sorry. I've got quite a bit of this written out though, so the next chapters will be better and longer.  
Thanks for all the reviews. :]


	3. Retrace

Sorry it's been so long for this update. I'm going to try to update more regularly.

Not much to say about this chapter, really. It's not nearly as long as I wanted it to be, but I think the next chapter will be better.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

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Chapter 3.

Edward came over first thing in the morning. I wasn't even out of bed-having passed out during a round of fresh tears-when he came. He helped Mom with breakfast while he waited for me to wake up.

That's where he was when I came down the stairs, setting the table for her.

I hoped I looked fairly decent. I had woken up looking frightening, and once I'd heard Edward's voice downstairs I didn't want to spend time worrying about my hair. I had rushed through my morning routine, changing into a clean dress and washing my face. I hadn't bothered to pin my hair back like usual, I had stuffed into a ponytail instead. I was sure I still looked terrible.

His green eyes lit up when he saw me, but the rest of his features looked tired. "Morning," he murmured in a husky voice.  
Just seeing him was enough for me to start crying again. I bit my lip-hard-and tried to keep control of myself. He drew me into his arms, kissing my hair, murmuring in my ear that things would be fine.

I nodded, and Mom came back into the room, and I moved away from Edward, sitting down at my normal spot at the table. He came over to sit beside me, like usual.

Breakfast as a quiet and awkward meal. Dad and Mom kept darting nervous glances at the two of us, and then at each other. They seemed afraid to say anything, so they just stayed silent. I wouldn't have minded that, normally, but today all it did was let my worries scream louder in my head. A distraction-even some trivial conversation-would have been very welcome.

I could tell they wanted to question us. Ask when Edward was leaving, if we were still going to get married, how we were doing, but they didn't. They just forced smiles and hurried to finish their food.

Edward and I just picked at our food. When Dad had finished and announced he was going to going to head down to the station, Edward asked me if I wanted to go for a walk.

I agreed, getting up to help clear the table.

"Don't worry about it, Bella. I'll take care of everything, just go on ahead with Edward," Mom encouraged, dismissing me with a wave of her hand and soft smile.

I nodded and went back to the living room where Edward was waiting for me. I knew we had a lot to talk about, but I was in no hurry to talk about any of it. It would just be more proof that Edward was leaving me.

He held the door open for me, and took my hand as we started walking. We weren't walking anywhere in particular, just around the block that we lived on. I knew in the end we'd end up at the Cullen's house, probably to talk to Alice and discuss the new wedding plans.

My heart fell even further as I thought of Alice. Six months pregnant Alice, whose husband was leaving just like mine. As horrible as I felt, I could only begin to imagine what Alice was going through. At least I didn't have a baby to worry about, to wonder if my husband would be there for the birth, or if he'd even get to meet his child.

"I guess we should talk about the wedding, since I'll be leaving a few days before it is supposed to happen," Edward said, glancing over at me. His green eyes looked darker than usual, worried.

I nodded. "I still want to get married, Edward. I don't want to wait." _I don't want to not get married now and have you never come back... _

"I don't want to wait either," he said, running a hand through his bronze hair, which was already sticking up in all directions, like he had already ran his hand through it one too many times this morning.

I pursed my lips. "So what do we do?"

"I guess we move it up." He shrugged. "Maybe in two weeks from now?"

"Two weeks?" Was I really ready to get married in just two weeks? I had been planning on a months peperation, and now I only had two weeks.

He nodded, watching my face. "Is that all right?"

No. I was ready to marry Edward. Two weeks wouldn't make a difference. And then we would have two weeks together before he had to leave. "It sounds fine," I agreed.

"Do you think we could get everything together in that short of a time?"

"I'm not sure," I said, honestly. "I think so...most of the stuff is already done, but you'd have to ask Alice to be sure, she's done all the work. And about that...I feel terrible about adding this extra stress to her. It must be even worse for her, with the baby."

He nodded. "I know, I'm worried about her too. We'll just have to do more of the work. Help her out with whatever we can."

"I can do more," I said. I honestly didn't feel like doing anything right now, but maybe being busy with wedding plans would help keep me from thinking about Edward leaving. "It's my wedding, after all. If Alice didn't love weddings and parties so much, I would be doing most of it anyway."

We were almost back at the Cullen's house now, and Edward stopped, turning to face me. "Are you sure about this Bella? I don't want to rush you into things, or make you guys hurry the wedding and not have everything you wanted."

I stared into his green eyes, and nodded confidently. "It doesn't matter, Edward. I don't care what the wedding is like, or when it is. I just want to be with you. I want to spend forever with you."

He smiled, and pulled me close to him. I buried my head in chest, inhaling his wonderful and familar scent.

"I love you," he breathed into my ear.

"I love you too."

---

"So what is the weddings new date?" Were the first words out of Alice's mouth when we finally walked up the path to the Cullen house. She was sitting on the porch, her hands on her stomach as she watched us. She looked bubbly as usual, but her eyes lacked sparkle.

Edward smiled a bit. "Two weeks earlier."

She nodded. "That's what I was figuring."

"But Alice...," I interrupted. "Edward and I talked about it, and we can take most of the wedding plans from here. I know what you're going through, and with the baby...and it is our wedding-"

"Bella," she cut in. "Don't worry about it. I'm just fine, and I can finish everything. There's not much left to be done anyway, your dress will be finished and all that. The only thing that might be a problem is the church, but I'm sure if we can't use it, we could always have the wedding here, in the backyard. If we fixed up with flowers and everything, it would be quite stunning, I think. And we were already having the reception here..." Her mind was already up and running, fixing and planning every detail.

"That sounds just fine," I agreed, imagining. the Cullen's backyard covered in flowers and everyone in their nicest clothes...

"Are you sure, Ali?" Edward asked. "We really don't mind taking care of everything."

She made a face at him. "Stop worrying about me. Everything'll be perfect." She stood up. "I'll go call the church right now and try to reschedule. Then we can start working on new invations. We'll have to deliver them, to make sure everyone knows on time, but at least you guys already were planning a small wedding, so it shouldn't take too much time. And I'm sure Rose and Esme will help us, so I'm sure it won't take us long at all." She grabbed my arm and lead us inside, where Carlisle and Esme were talking in the living room. They both smiled at the three of us as we walked inside. It was the same sort of smile that my parents had been giving us, sad and unsure of what else to do, afraid to make it worse for any of us.

Alice went to sit down next to Esme. "How are you feeling, dear?" she asked her daughter, glancing over her.

Alice shrugged. "I'm all right."

"We've decided to move the wedding date," Edward said, putting his arm around me. "It'll be in two weeks."

They both nodded-they'd seen it coming, of course-and Esme jumped right into the planning with Alice. She loved the idea of us having the wedding at their house, and told us again that she would help in anyway possible. It was hard to focus on what they were saying, with Edward's arm around me, pulling me closer to him than usual. I tried to just enjoy being with him, and not think about how in just four short weeks he would be gone.

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I hope to have the next chapter out within a few days. :] Along with a new chapter on NYF too. :]  
Reviews are love.


	4. Half Of My Heart

So I lied. This is a short chapter too. I was going to make it longer, but it would have been _really_ long, so I decided to break it up.  
The next chapter though, will be the wedding. :] And it's going to be super long.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed.

Oh, and yes, at this point it's all going to be in Bella's pov. I might do a chapter or two of Edward's, when he is away from Bella, but we'll just have to see.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

* * *

Chapter Four.

The next two weeks were a whirlwind, full of wedding preparations. I threw myself into helping, since it helped take my mind off of Edward's leaving.

The church had already been booked for that day, our new wedding date, so we decided to have it at the Cullen's instead. Esme had been thrilled and ordered a ton of flowers so we could decorate the backyard with them. I had no doubt it would be beautiful.

The first thing we had done after the church had been delivering the invitations with the new date. The three of us, Alice, Rose and I had spent an entire day going to everyone who was invited. Most of them had invited us in for tea or cookies or something, but we had managed to get it done within a day, except for a few, which Esme and my Mom had delivered for us.

My dress had been finished, and the bridesmaids dresses were done as well. Alice had finished drawing out a cake design, and everything was basically ready to go. All that was left was the stuff to be done right before the wedding.

Every night Edward came over and ate dinner with us, or took me out for dinner. We saw a few movies, but I found it hard to go over the normal motions of dating with him anymore, even though I did love every minute that I got to spend with him. I'd just rather spend it talking with him, memorizing his face, his voice, everything, instead of sitting beside him in a dark theater.

We rarely talked about him leaving. We tried to avoid the subject in general. One time I had tried to bring it up, and Edward had shook his head and smiled my favorite crooked smile at me. "We don't have to talk about it, love. There's not much to say anyway. I'm going to England...and I'm going to miss you every second of it, and do my best to come back to you as soon as possible." He seemed confident that he would in fact be coming back, but I had seen the flash of fear in his eyes, and I knew that he was not at all as confident as he tried to sound.

I didn't talk about him leaving with Rosalie and Alice much either. We all knew how the others were feeling, and we did talk about it a few times, all admitting that we were afraid that they wouldn't be coming home. As much as I hated to admit it, I had a hard time believing that Edward, Emmett and Jasper would all three come home. I tried not to think about it, but most of the time it was hard to think of anything else.

The other difficult part had been our house. We had bought it a week before Edward had found out he was leaving. It was a small but nice house, not far from our parents, and near where Alice and Jasper and Rosalie and Emmett lived. We had spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to do with the house, since we would only be living there for two weeks before Edward was leaving. He didn't like the idea of me staying there by myself, he wanted me to move back in with my parents. I protested against that idea though, as much as I disliked the idea of living by myself, but I would be married, and I didn't want to move back in with my parents, especially when our house was sitting empty. Instead I insisted that I would be fine, and Alice would be just down the street. Eventually he had given in, and we had started moving our furniture into our house, painting it and getting ready for us to move into after the wedding.

"You look great tonight," Edward murmured, glancing over at me. We were in his car, heading down the same road that we had taken the night he had told me. It was the night before our wedding, and nerves were already starting to get the best of me.

At least when we were alone we didn't have to keep up the act that everyone else was. Our families seemed to think the best route to take was to pretend that Edward, Emmett and Jasper weren't leaving. I was tired of everyone, especially Esme and Mom's, fake cheerfulness. It was nice not having to pretend that I was so worried about Edward that thinking about him leaving made me want to curl up and cry.

Now that was it was just the two of us, away from everything else... The tears started falling down my cheeks before I even realized I was crying. I darted a glance at Edward and swiped at the tears quickly. I didn't like crying in front of him. I didn't want to make him feel any worse about leaving, and I knew my tears would do exactly that.

He had noticed them of course. When we got to the park, one we had played in as children, he shut the car off and opened his arms for me. I fell into them, burying my head against his chest. "Sorry," I murmured, as the tears started to fall again. My stomach was twisting and churning, and I wondered if it was nerves about tomorrow or him leaving that were causing them.

He stroked my hair, and I felt his fingers pause as he made out what I said. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Bella," he said, sounding surprised. "If anyone is sorry, I am."

I sat up to face him, my vision blurry through the tears. "What could you have to be sorry for? You can't help that you are leaving."

"No...but I wish things were different. I feel like I'm cheating you out of a real wedding and everything. I know Alice is doing a great job, but I feel like it isn't what you want really wanted, since we had to rush it. And we really won't be able to start our lives together...until I get back."

"Edward..." I shook my head. "That's nothing. The wedding isn't important to me-even though Alice has done an amazing job, and I think it will be better than what we had planned in the first place-but the only important thing to me is that we are going to be married...and that you're going to come back to me. Alive and well." I set my head back against his chest and he kissed my head.

"I will," he murmured into my hair. "I swear I will."

I needed him then. A burning, desperate need that overtook anything else I was feeling, even all my fears and nerves about the wedding tomorrow. I knew I would loose him soon, and I needed as much as him as I could get now. I ran my fingers through his hair, trying to get closer to him. He kissed me back with a ferocity that I had never felt from him before, and I knew he needed me just as desperately right then.

And then it hit me. It really hit me.

He was leaving.

I had been trying to avoid it, trying to pretend like it wasn't really going to happen.

But he would be gone, for a while. Maybe a year, and maybe even longer than that. he wouldn't be coming home every evening with a smile as he pulled me into his arms and kissed me. I wouldn't hear his honey sweet voice as he told me he loved me. I wouldn't have any of it. And I didn't know what I would do without him. How could I live, how could I do anything, go on with my life, without him?


	5. As Long As We Both Shall Live

Sorry it took so long to get this out! I would have posted it earlier, but last week was spring break, and I spent about 12 hours at home, and about 11 of it was sleeping. lol.  
But here it is, the wedding. : ]

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

* * *

Chapter Five.

_I'm getting married today. _

That was first thing I thought as I opened my eyes that morning and looked around my room. This was the last time I would sleep in this room, the last day that this would be _my _home, and the last day I would ever be single. By tonight I would be Mrs. Edward Cullen.

The name sounded like music to me, and I smiled as I pushed my blankets away and got out of bed. I wore jeans today, something I rarely did, and a large t-shirt. It didn't matter much what I was wearing, since I would be changing into my wedding dress in just a few hours, and before that I would be sitting around in the Cullen's bathroom while Alice and Rosalie did my hair and makeup.

As I finished getting ready for the day I paused to give my room one last look. I supposed it would always be my room, but next time I saw it, I wouldn't live here anymore. I was excited thinking about that, and I realized I wasn't really nervous anymore. I mean, I was nervous about putting on my dress and walking down the aisle on my Dad's arm, while everyone watched me. I was nervous that something might go wrong, or Edward might for some reason change his mind just before we said our I dos. But I had no fears about Edward himself. I knew I loved him more than anything else. I knew he was _the one. _And I knew I wanted to spend forever with him.

I headed down the stairs, where Mom and Dad were eating breakfast. Both of them turned to smile at me as I came into the kitchen.

"Do you want something to eat, Bella?" Mom asked, moving like she was about to get up and fix me something.

I shook my head. "No thanks, Mom. I'll be okay."

"Are you really nervous, honey?" she asked, turning back to her own breakfast.

I sat down at my spot at the table anyway. "Sort of. About the actual wedding, but not about Edward. No cold feet." I smiled.

She smiled back. "I'm happy for you, Bella. I can tell you guys are going to be really happy." She moved over to hug me.

"Thanks Mom," I said lightly, smiling back at her.

Dad watched us, looking less sure of that than Mom. "I hope you guys are real happy together, Bells," he said, and I knew that he was nervous about letting me go. I got up from the table and went around to hug him.

"I love you, Dad," I said, kissing his forehead. "But I really should be heading over to the Cullen's."

Mom nodded. "We'll be over pretty soon, to get ready too."

I grabbed my sweater and left the house, heading next store to the Cullen's. There were already people in the backyard, so I headed for the back instead of the house. Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle and Esme were there, setting up the flowers.

The backyard was totally transformed. It was prettier than anything I could have imagine, white and light pink flowers and everywhere, and covering the arch set up for us to be married under. White chairs were lined up over the yard.

"Wow, this is amazing," I exclaimed. I imagined me in my white dress, and Edward in his black tux, standing under the flower covered arch while we said our vows.

Esme turned to smile at me. "Do you like it, Bella?"

"Like it? I love it, it's amazing. So much more than I ever expected."

She came over and hugged me. "I'm so happy that you like it. And I'm so happy for you and Edward, and that you are going to be my daughter..." She sounded like she was about to cry, and I realized that I wouldn't make it through this day without shedding a few tears of my own.

"Thank you so much, Esme," I murmured.

She kissed me on the cheek and then pulled away, still smiling. "I think Alice and Rosalie are waiting for you, dear."

I headed into the house, through the back door. Alice must have heard the door open, because she suddenly appeared at the stairs. "You're finally here!" she said, running-yes, running-down the stairs to grab my arm and pull me back up the stairs. "We have so much to do and only a few hours to do it."

"Are you sure there's nothing I need to do to help first?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Nope, everything is taken care of." She lead me into the bathroom, where Rosalie was sitting on the counter, and there was a chair set up in front of the mirror.

Rosalie's blond hair was already curled to perfection and pulled back from her face. She looked amazing already. "Morning Bella," she smiled at me. "Nervous?"

"Yes and no," I answered.

Alice motioned for me to sit down in the chair. I did.

She took my hair out of it's ponytail, and brushed it out before grabbing her curling iron. They spent a good hour-I had thick hair, and lot's of it-curling my hair and styling it. They pulled the curls out of my face into a stylish up do, and Alice pinned a few small white flowers into my hair. I turned in front of the mirror to get a better look at my hair.

"Wow, Alice, it looks amazing," I said.

She beamed. "Of course it does. Now sit back down, we still have to do makeup."

Rosalie did my makeup, while Alice styled her short, spiky hair and did applied her own makeup.

"You're going to look perfect, Bella," Rosalie told me, applying some light pink eyeshadow.

"I won't look as good as you did, when you married Emmett," I muttered matter of factly, blushing at the compliment.

She smiled. "Thanks, but I'd say we are about even. You don't see yourself clearly." She held a tube of pink lipstick to me, and I took it from her, moving closer to the mirror to apply it. I had to admit that I did look different than usual, better than usual. My hair was gorgeous, and the makeup was perfect-light but natural looking. My face was already flushed, and I knew that I would literally be a blushing bride.

"I'm going to go check on the cake and the backyard, and then I'll bring your dress up," Alice said, finishing with her makeup. She looked stunning as well, and she gave me a reassuring smile and disappeared from the room.

Rosalie sat back down on the counter and smiled at me.

"Were you nervous?" I asked. "When you got married?"

She laughed lightly. "Sure, of course I was."

"But were you nervous about Emmett?"

Her light eyebrows raised. "You aren't having second thoughts, are you?"

"Oh, no!" I said quickly, shaking my head. "Of course not. I know that Edward is right for me. That he's _the _one. I'm just nervous about standing up in front of everyone."

She smiled softly. "Oh, you'll be fine. Really. This wedding will be beautiful, and once you go out there and see Edward, you won't even care about anything else that's going on. I promise."

I smiled back at her. "Can I ask you something else, Rose?" I bit my lip.

"Of course."

"Are you worried? About Emmett leaving? Well, not him leaving...about the possiblity that he might never come back?" I wasn't sure what had compelled me to ask, of course she was. We all were. I guess I just wanted to know that I wasn't the only one. Everyone else seemed to be so much better at acting normal, like it wasn't happening.

"Of course. More than anything. It's all I think about now...I try not too. I try to tell myself that he'll be okay, that things will be fine, but I can't stop worrying." Her blue eyes grew dark, worried.

"Same," I murmured.

She brightened then. "Try not to think about it, Bella. At least not today. Just enjoy knowing that he loves you, and that you love him, and you're going to be married."

I tried to smile. "Thanks, Rose."

Alice burst back into the room then. She had changed into her pale blue dress. Even with her large stomach, she still looked beautiful in her dress. Her hands were full of white and blue fabric. She held the blue dress out to Rosalie and instructed her to hurry up and change, and then hung my wedding dress up. "Your makeup looks perfect," she told me.

She helped me change into the wedding dress, and then guided me in front of the mirror to look at it. Even though I had tried the dress on before, it was still a surprise to see myself in it now, with my hair done. It was a long dress, with a full skirt. The bodice was snug and had white flowers embroidered on it. The skirt rustled against the floor, but wasn't so long that I was in danger of tripping on it.

Alice took a step back, and clasped her hands together, a wide grin spreading over her face. "Oh, Bella, you look perfect!"

Rosalie chimed in with her agreement.

"Thanks," I murmured shyly, suddenly feeling self-conscious, even if I did feel like I looked pretty good in this dress. The realization was hitting me that we would be going outside soon, and in less than hour I would be Mrs. Cullen.

There was a knock on the door, and Alice danced over to answer it. Standing in the doorway was Dad. "Ready for me?" he asked her.

"Yep!" She opened the door for him to walk in, my Mom following him. Their eyes scanned the room before resting on me.

"Oh Bella!" Mom exclaimed, coming over to hug me, carefully so she wouldn't mess up my dress. "You look so beautiful!"

Dad rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed at all of the affection in the room, but smiled wryly at me. "You look great, Bells."

"Thank you," I murmured again, hugging my Mom back. She looked like she was about to start crying as she pulled away, and she laughed at herself, dabbing carefully at her eyes. "I knew I would start crying!"

Alice's smokey eyes darted to the clock. "It's almost time."

_Oh my gosh. Just...breathe, Bella. Breathe. _I sucked in deep breaths of air, trying to keep calm. I was about to walk in front of everyone and get married...

Everyone took Alice's hint, and Mom leaned in for another hug, then kissed my cheek. "I love you, honey," she whispered in my ear, before leaving the room.

Dad came over to me, holding his arm out to me. I took it, glad to have him there with me. Alice and Rosalie led the way downstairs, Alice giving all of us instructions on what we were supposed to do.

We waited just inside the house. Alice and Rosalie were blocking my view, so I couldn't see anything outside, other than the white flowers that now adorned the backyard.

"I love you, Bells," Dad whispered softly in my ear, as Alice fixed her cousin, Tanya's, dress and pointed towards the aisle, reminding her of what she was supposed to do, before handing her the basket of flower petals.

The adorable five year old grinned at all of us, before turning and walking down the aisle.

_Breathe. Breathe. _"I love you too, Dad," I replied, feeling choked up. I wasn't sure if it was just because my Dad had actually told me he loved me like that, something he almost never did, or just the wedding in general.

He kissed my forehead, and we lined up behind Rosalie and Alice.

Once Tanya had gotten halfway down the aisle, Rosalie started walking.

"Don't trip, Bella," Alice muttered, grinning, as she waited for her cue.

"Thanks a lot," I murmured back, but I smiled as well.

Alice began walking down the aisle. When she got halfway down, she turned to look back at me for a second, nodding. That was my cue.

_Breathe, Bella. _

I'm not sure if I would have started walking, if Dad wasn't holding onto my arm. He moved forward, bringing me along with him. We walked carefully, and slowly. There was so much to take in at once. The crowd...the backyard...Edward.

Edward. My breath caught in my throat as soon as I saw him. He was standing next to the minister, in a black suit. He was watching me, and his expression was something I could never explain, but something I would never forget.

"I love you," he mouthed, as our eyes locked.

My lips pulled up into a wide smile, and I found that I didn't have to tell myself to breathe anymore. I wasn't even nervous anymore...Edward was here...and he loved me. I didn't need anything else.

Dad and I stopped at the end of the aisle, and I vaguely heard the minister ask Charlie 'who gives this woman' and his reply. He kissed my forehead before leading me to Edward's arms instead of his.

The ceremony passed quickly, but beautifully. I felt tears as I recited my vows, and Edward recited his. Our eyes never left each other.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Edward put his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him, before kissing me softly on the lips.

All of our guests were clapping, and I leaned into Edward. He leaned down to murmur softly in my ear, "I love you."

* * *

There it is. : ] I'm not completely happy with the very ending, but I think it turned out all right. Hope you guys liked it.

Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed and alerted this!


	6. Welcome Home Mrs Cullen

Here it is, chapter six.

Happy Easter guys, hope everyone had a great day.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

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Chapter Six.

The backyard looked like something out of a fairytale. The sun was just starting to set in the distance, casting a warm, dusky glow. The flowers, all beautiful and white, covered the fence, and smelled wonderful.

And I was in Edward's arms, as we swayed gently from side to side in time to the soft music playing. It was our first dance as husband and wife. I looked up at him, marveling in the knowledge that I was really his wife. I wasn't Bella Swan anymore, I was Bella Cullen. Mrs. Edward Cullen.

"Have I told you yet how gorgeous you look?" he murmued into my ear, swirling us around in a soft circle.

I laughed. "Only about a million times." Once they had announced us as man and wife, we had been attacked by our families, with hugs and kisses and congratulations. My Mom had hugged both of us and cried, telling us how great we were together, and how happy she was for us. Esme had done the same thing, and Carlisle had hugged us both, congratulating us. Dad had hugged me again, and smiled hesitantly at Edward, shaking his hand and murmuring to him to take care of 'his girl.' I had seen the flash of worry in Edward's eyes, and for the first time in several hours I had been reminded that he was leaving.

I smothered a sigh, trying not to think about it. I didn't want to be sad, I didn't want to think about it about it today. I wanted today to be happy.

I laid my head against his chest. "I love you so much."

I felt his lips pressing against my hair. "I love you too, Bella."

My chest felt oddly heavy, and I tightened my arms around his neck a bit.

The song ended, and we moved away from each other a bit. Everyone clapped around us and I blushed a deep red at the attention. I had forgotten that everyone had been watching us. Edward smiled reassuringly at me.

We walked back over to our families, and Edward asked my mother if she would like to dance. She smiled and accepted, letting him lead her out on the floor, while he winked at me.

"Will you honor with me a dance, Bella?" Carlisle asked, standing up and offering me his hand.

"I would love too," I took his hand, and he lead me out to the dance floor as well. We mostly just swayed from side to side. I couldn't dance to save my life, and I didn't want to chance stepping on my father in law's feet. He knew that I wasn't much of a dancer, and seemed content with our pace.

"We're so glad to have you as a part of the family, Bella," he told me.

I smiled. "I'm happy to be part of your family. Honored," I added honestly. I couldn't imagine a better family to be a part of than the Cullen's. I shut my eyes for a second, and I could imagine future Holidays. Christmas at the Cullen's, with my parents there, and Alice and Jasper and their little baby, and Rosalie and Emmett. And me, with Edward. It was a perfect picture, the future I very much wanted. I felt that grip of fear that was becoming so familar to me. What if...

_No, what ifs, Bella. _

Carlisle must have recognized my expression. He smiled softly, his face full of understanding. "He'll be fine, Bella. They all will," he promised.

I tried to smile back at him, but it probably looked more like a grimace. "I know," I murmured quietly, looking down.

"Just enjoy the time you have together now. You'll have plenty of time to worry about it later."

I nodded. "I'll try," I whispered dryly.

He seemed satisfied with that answer, and decided to change the subject. "You look beautiful, dear."

"Thank you, Carlisle."

He laughed. "You can call me Dad now, if you'd like." There was a teasing edge to his voice, but I knew he was serious.

I blushed, but laughed a little too. "Okay, Dad." The word seemed a little foreign to me, saying it to someone else, but I knew I would contiune to call him that, because Carlisle really was like a father to me.

He laughed again, liking the sound of it.

A minute later my Dad cut in, while Edward started to dance with Esme. Carlisle kissed my forehead before handing me off, and asking Mom if she would like to dance with him.

Dad swept me into his arms, and I liked the familar warm feel. I darted a glance at Edward and Esme. They were swirling around, dancing flawlessly. I envied his grace, and glanced back at my Dad. I was enjoying dancing with him, but I missed Edward already, and hoped I'd be able to return to his arms soon.

"Are you happy, Bells?" Dad asked me, bringing my attention back to him.

He was smiling tentatively at me.

I smiled reassuringly at him. "Very, Dad. I mean, that doesn't even begin to cover it-"

He chuckled. "Glad to hear it."

I laughed lightly. "I love you, Dad."

He didn't reply, but hugged me close to him for a minute. "You too, kiddo," he finally said. "I'm glad you're happy with him."

The song ended, and Edward asked if he could cut in. Dad kissed my cheek before he left the dance floor, going over to my Mom and asking her for a dance.

I felt a tear roll down my face, and I wiped it away as quickly as I could. Who knew a wedding would be this emotionally draining.

---

The rest of the wedding was much less tearful. We all danced for a while. I danced with who knows how many people, Jasper, Emmett, Mike and countless family members, and of course, Edward several times. After a while we stopped for the cake, which was beautiful.

I laughed when I saw it, because it shouted _Alice. _It was covered in pink frosting with white roses. It must have taken forever, but it was wonderful. The cake tasted just as good. I laughed the entire time Edward and I fed each other a piece. I never thought I would enjoy these sort of wedding stuff, but I was having a great time.

Everyone toasted us, and a few people, like Alice and Jasper, talked about how happy they were for us, and then there was more dancing. The heels that Alice had given to me to wear were killing my feet and after a while I just took them off and threw to them the side, hoping Alice hadn't seen me do it. She had, of course, but she just rolled her eyes at me, and continued dancing with Jasper.

Eventually the night started to come to a close. It was really late, and the yard was dark except for candles sitting on the tables. Everyone was exhausted. Happy and smiling, but tired. We did more of the normal wedding stuff, taking off the garter, and throwing my bouquet. Angela, who was a pretty close friend of mine, caught it, and stood blushing, staring at Ben Chesney, a boy she had liked for while, who had danced with her a lot this evening. I hoped things would work out.

There was more crying then, of course, as we all told each other good night and there were more kisses, hugs, tears and congralutions, before we left.

"This is our house," Edward said, and I could tell he liked the sound of it.

I smiled. "Yep. All ours."

He laughed, unlocking the door. He swept me into his arms, and I clung to his neck, laughing too. He carried me into the house, manging to shut the door behind us with his foot.

"Welcome home, Mrs. Cullen," he murmured into my ear, before capturing my lips with his.

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Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and favorited and just read this. :]


	7. Be Safe

So...sorry this took so long! I don't really have any excuses other than...well, life. But it's here now, and I have the next chapter almost finished, so it should be up soon.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, and favorited this! It means so much to me! 3

* * *

Chapter Seven.

The next two weeks were completely amazing. Edward and I were perfect together, absolutely perfect. I loved being married. I loved waking up with his arms around me. I loved making dinner, and having him come home from work and wrap his arms around me, kiss my cheek and tell me how much he missed me all day.

Our live together probably would have been perfect if it hadn't been for his leaving. It was hard to really enjoy every day when it meant he was just that much closer to leaving for England. Two weeks wasn't a long time, and it definitely wasn't long enough for us. It didn't take long before two weeks turned into a week and a half, and for that to turn into a week, and for that to turn into just a _few days. _

And for just a few days to turn into....tomorrow.

"You're leaving tomorrow," I said to him at dinner, my voice surprisingly calm despite the way it made my stomach churn. But I could hear the underlying accusation in my voice, and Edward could too.

I set dinner on the table with a _thud, _frowning at the food. Maybe it was because today was pretty much the last day I would make dinner for him for....who knows how long. The thought made my breath catch in my throat.

I sat down in my chair, reaching for my glass of water. I couldn't even pick it up, my hands were shaking so much.

He looked up at me, meeting my eyes. His look was...unreadable. A mixture of sadness, guilt and love. "I know. Bella, I'm sorry."

I sighed, frustrated. I didn't want him to apologize. I didn't know what I wanted him to do. I wanted him to stay, and at the same time I knew he couldn't, he just couldn't. And I hated that I couldn't do anything about it. "It's not your fault," I muttered.

"I'll be back before you know it," he tried to reassure me.

I snorted. "Yeah, right."

He chuckled a bit, but the humor didn't travel all the way to his eyes. He pushed away from the table, never touching the food. He came over to me, wrapping his arms around me, and kissing my forehead. "We've talked about this, love."

"I know," I murmured, moving around to bury my face into his chest. I breathed in his familar scent, wanting to memroize it. I wrapped my fingers around his shirt. "It just feels...really real now. You're really going to leave me. And I don't know what I"m going to do without you. How I'm going to go on without you." Tears stung my eyes, threatening to spill over.

He hugged me closer to him. "I know, I feel the same way, Bella. I don't know how I can wak up without seeing your face first thing, or hearing your voice. But I...I have to do this. I'll be back as soon as I can. Maybe it won't even feel that long..." he paused here to chuckle darkly. He believed that about as much as I did, "and in the meantime you'll have your parents, and my parents, and Alice and Rosalie and everyone else to keep you company."

"Yeah," I agreed, still clinging to him. As much as I loved all the people he had listed...they weren't him. They wouldn't feel the void he would leave in my chest when he left.

His lips found mine, kissing me with a need that I had only felt one other time-when he had told me he was leaving-and he lifted me up into his arms.

"What about dinner?" I muttered dumbly, pulling away for a second.

"LIke we are going to it anyway. Let's just go to bed."  
I brought my lips back to his, kissing him back with the same need. I wasn't about to argue.

---

Edward left on a bus.

Emmett and Jasper left on the same bus, and the entire family, mine, the Cullen's and the Hale's, went to see them off.

I couldn't help but put on a black dress, as I got ready to leave that morning. It was raining when the two of us walked outside, his arm around my waist, keeping me close to him. Of course it was raining. I wasn't almost glad for it, for once. I couldn't handle the sunshine today.

He held me tightly the entire walk to the station, but I avoided looking at his face. I wanted to memorize it, make sure that I would remember everything about it, but even a glance in his direction made my throat tighten, and tears sting in my eyes.

As we waited for the bus to arrive-it was always late-we said our goodbyes. Emmett and Jasper hugged everyone, including me. Emmett whispered to take care of myself and not to worry too much about them, they would be fine. He seemed completely confident about this whole thing. If he didn't have to leave Rose, I wouldn't have been surprised if he was excited about going.

Jasper hugged me a bit longer. He had an air of confidence to him, but his eyes kept darting bck to Alice, who was staring at the ground, her top teeth biting into her lip-probably to keep back tears-while her hands ran over her belly.

"Take care of her, Bella," he asked me. "Take care of her and the baby. Don't let her do too much..."

I had to blink back tears. "I will, Jasper," I promised, my chest tightening.

He nodded "Thank you." He kissed my forehead softly, thn turned to say his final goodbyes to Alice.

Edward saiad goodbye to everyone else first. He hugged my mother, shook hands with my father. Mr. and Mrs. Hale told him to be safe, and to take care of himself, which he promised he would. He hugged Rosalie and she asked him to take care of Emmett. "Don't let him do anything stupid," she had said, and he had promised that he would.

Alice cried into his shoulder, which had almost made me fall apart right then. "You'd better come back. If you..." she said, between sobs, her voice breaking.

"Ali, it's okay. I'll come back, really," he promised in a soothing voice. He held her until she calmed down a bit, and kissed her cheek. "Take care of you. Both of you."

Carlisle pulld him into a hug, whispering something I couldn't hear from where I was standing. Edward nodded to whatever had had said, and he looked he was fighting back tears as he pulled away from his father and turned to his mother.

Esme was alraedy crying. She hugged him for a long time, telling him to be safe, to take care of his brother, and he in turn made his parents promise to keep an eye on me.

And then he turned to me. His eyes were green and beautiful, but dark with worry and sadness. He walked over to me slowly and pulled me into his arms. I buried my head in his shoulder, tears flowing. I didn't bother trying to hold them back anymore.

"Oh, Edward," I mumbled, tightening my hold around his neck. I never wanted to let go. I didn't know how I could let go.

I felt his fingers as they went through my hair, smoothing it gently away from my face. "I know. I love you, Bella. More than anything."

He pulled away finally, after the bus had rolled in and the passengers had gotten off. The drivers called for all people boarding, and he rectantly moved away from me, still holding my hand. "I love you. And don't worry about me. Just take care of yourself, okay? I'll be fine."

I nodded, tears falling even faster down my cheeks. He moved closer to me again, kissing me with a need I had never felt from him before. I was sure everyone was staring at us, but I didn't care. I kissed him back with a need matching his own.

He pulled away, gasping for breath. Before he could move too far away from me, I leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Come back to me, Edward. Come back."

"I will," he promised, his eyes never moving from mine. "Be safe. I love you."

And then he turned away from me, grabbing his bag and following Emmett and Jasper onto the bus.

Alice came over to me, and I put my arms around her shoulders, both of us crying as we watched the bus start up and begin to pull away. I saw Edward in the window, waving at me. I waved back. I waved until the bus had disappeared completely from view.

We stood there for a few minutes longer, as if it might come back. Finally my Dad and Carlisle suggested that we should get home, and we started the walk back to our homes. I walked hollowly, I felt like I wasn't even there. I crossed my arms across my chest and tried to focus on moving one foot in front of each other. When we got back to the block that we all lived on, my mom told me I should come home for a while, wanting to keep an eye on me, to make sure I was okay. I told them thanks, but I wanted to go home, to my own house, to be alone for a while. I didn't want a whole bunch of people doting on me. She had still looked concerned, but she agreed anyway, pulling me into a hug and kissing my forehead. I told her I'd come for dinner, if I felt up to it, and then I walked back to my house.

It was so...empty. Edward and I had just been here, waking up, talking over a breakfast that neither of us had eaten. He had just _been _here. Just a few minutes ago. And now he was gone. I started to shake, tears stinging my eyes. I leaned against the back door, falling to sit on the floor, as sobs started to take over, shaking my body.

Edward was gone. _He's gone. _

* * *


	8. Time Moves On

Right, so, I'm not really happy with the beginning here. I wanted to have something more there, but I couldn't get anything to work out the way I wanted too, and I didn't want to wait any longer to post this, so here it is, and I hope you guys like it anyway. Not my favorite chapter, but necessary for the rest of the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

* * *

Time moved on, and eventually all the other men in town were leaving as well. The only people that still remained in Forks was women, children and older men that were too old for the fighting. Town seemed strangely empty, and strangely on edge. It was like we were all just sitting around, helpless to do anything, waiting for the news. The news about the first man who wouldn't be coming home. We all just tried to keep going, praying that we wouldn't be the one to get the news.

Even though I had spent that first week just laying around, feeling sorry for myself, and moping around my parents house, I knew I couldn't continue that way. Especially not with people like Esme and Rosalie and Alice, all continuing on with their lives, staying strong despite their worries.

So I put more effort into it. Getting dressed every morning, pinning up my hair, making sure the house was clean, and making dinner, which I brought to Alice's house every evening. We ate at my parents, and at Carlisle and Esme's often, but sometimes Alice didn't feel up to going out, or I wanted to cook. Keeping busy was good, it kept my mind off of things.

I spent a lot of time with Alice. I had promised Jasper-and Edward-that I would keep an eye on her, make sure she wasn't working too hard, and that she and the baby were okay. I went over to her house everyday to see how she was doing. I helped her clean up her house, and do laundry.

There was still a lot of downtime though, so we'd sit around on the porch with Rosalie, and watch it rain. We didn't talk much usually, but we did go over any topics that were safe from the war, not that there was very many.

During the day I managed to stay pretty busy, and to keep my mind off of Edward, and him being gone. It was night that it was hard, that I dreaded. I didn't sleep much, and when I did, I always woke up a few hours later in a nightmare. A few times I woke up completely sweaty, screaming Edward's name. The dreams were all the same, always terrible. It was of Edward, in his uniform, in the middle of a forest. What he was doing varied. Sometimes he'd be sleeping, other times laughing, and occasionally talking to me. Then lights would go off in the distance. Bombs. And the lights would get closer. Edward would always stop whatever he was doing-or wake up, and run towards the lights. And then there'd be a bigger and louder explosion. And he would disappear.

---

One day I went over to Alice's to find that she hadn't even gotten out of bed. She was propped up against some pillows, her skin looking even more pale than normal.

"Alice," I said in alarm. "What's wrong?" She couldn't be having the baby....she still had over a month to go. Was something wrong? I chewed my lip, my heart speeding up as I waited for her answer.

"Nothing's wrong," she said, rolling her eyes at me. "I just feel...worn out. And kind of sick. Dizzy when I get up. I'm fine though, really."

I frowned. "Are you sure, Alice? Shouldn't I go get Carlisle?"

"I don't know. I think it'll pass," she said. She grabbed a book of her nightstand-it looked like Pride and Prejudice-and looked it over. "I think I just need to rest for a while."

"Well," I said, studying her face. "I'm going to run over and talk to him anyway. If he thinks something wrong, he'll come over."

She didn't look away from the book. "Fine, Bella, but I really am okay."

I nodded, but turned away from the room, promising that I would be back soon and I'd make sandwiches for dinner. I headed across the street to Carlisle and Esme's. I walked into the kitchen, where they were both sitting, along with Rosalie.

"Morning, Bella," Esme greeted me cheerfully. "Want some breakfast?"

"No, thank you," I said, smiling at her before turning to Carlisle. "I was just over at Alice's. She says she's...worn out, and feeling a bit sick. She insisted she was fine, but I wanted to tell you anyway," I said in a rush.

He got up from the table, putting his coffee cup in the sink. "I'll go over and check on her. I'm sure it's nothing though."

"Oh, I'll come with you," Esme said, going over to the fridge. "I made some of those cookies she and....,welll, I know she loves them and I wanted to bring her some."

I felt a sharp pain in my chest when she edited out Edward's name, but I tried not to think about it, as Esme gathered her cookies and the two of them headed out to go see Alice. I decided to hang back here for a little bit, and turned to Rosalie.

"It must be awful for Alice," I said matter of factly, sitting down in a chair across from her.

"What do you mean?" Rosalie asked me, turning to look at me. She looked amazing as always, but I noticed that she had purple bags under her stunning blue eyes.

"Well, it's just that...with the baby, and everything. It's _awful _having Edward away. I couldn't imagine being pregnant on top of that, and worrying about having the baby while he isn't there, or if the baby doesn't have a..." I bit my lip, not wanting to finish that sentence.

I was surprised to look up and find that Rosalie was glaring at me. "It's hard for _all _of us, Bella. In fact, I think it's even _worse _for those of us _not _expecting a baby. And at least she will have something to remember Jasper by, even if God forbid, the worst happens and he doesn't come home. And at the very least, you have the _possiblity _of having a baby. I won't have that. If something happens to Emmett, I won't have a baby to remember him by, I can't have a baby, Bella," she snapped at me, her voice full of venom. She glared at me.

I was taken back. I had no idea. No idea that she felt so deeply about this, no idea that Rosalie couldn't have a baby. "You...can't?" I murmured quietly, feeling awkward and stupid.

She continued to glare. "No. We never can."

"I'm sorry," I murmured in a quiet voice.

"You didn't know," she said coldly.

"No," I said quietly, still a bit stunned. Poor Rosalie... I had had no idea. I had just assumed she and Emmett weren't ready for children. She had always talked about kids though. When we were younger we would spend hours sitting outside, talking about how we'd have husbands and kids someday. Rosalie had even gone as far as to decide how many she wanted, what gender and what they would be named. Emma, she wanted to name a little girl-she had always been sure that Emmett would be the father. She had wanted it so bad. My heart ached for her just thinking about it. It must be so hard for her. And none of us had even known.

She shrugged it off then, standing up and squaring her shoulders. "You'd better make sure Alice is all right. I'm going to parents for dinner. Tell Esme I'll talk to her tomorrow. And tell Alice I hope she feels better."

I nodded, assuring her that I would.

She nodded vaguely, heading for the door.

I took a deep breath, watching her disappear. I wouldn't tell anyone else, not even Alice. If Rose wanted them to know, she would tell them her self. And this was obviously something she didn't want any of them to know. I sucked in another breath and headed back towards Alice's.

She was still in bed, but she was reassuring her father that she was just fine. He agreed that it was probably nothing, but to send me over if she felt any worse. She said she would. Esme left the cookies for her, kissing her forehead. "Take care of yourself," she said sternly. "And my grandchild."

Alice smiled. "I will, Mom. Don't worry."

Esme smiled back, following Carlisle out into the rest of the house.

"So you're okay?" I asked softly.

She nodded. "Told you I was." She motioned to the end of her bed. "Sit down, I want to ask you something."

I came over and sat down. "Okay..." I really didn't want anymore surprises today.

She laughed at my expression. "It's nothing _bad, _Bella. It's just...I actually wanted to know if you could maybe stay with me?"

"What?"

"Stay here, with me. Just till the baby is born, maybe a week or two later to make sure things are okay... You could stay in the nursery-we didn't get very far on it, there's still a bed. I mean you're living all by yourself-though I understand if you don't want to leave your house-but I was just thinking..."

"Okay," I agreed without hesitation.

"Okay?" She asked, smiling.

I nodded. "It's a good idea," I agreed. "That way you have someone here, no matter what. If the baby comes, or something goes wrong. And there's no sense me living alone, especially since I'm here with you all the time anyway. and I can't go over and check on my house..."

"Thank you, Bella," she smiled the biggest smile I had seen since Jasper had left.

I smiled back. "No problem, Alice," I told her honestly. "I'll move in tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll go make those sandwiches, are you hungry?"

She laughed. "Very."

I went into the kitchen to make dinner. Staying with Alice until the baby was born made sense. I couldn't help the ache in my chest wishing that Jasper was still here safe with her, and that Edward was here safe with me.


	9. Need You Now

I wasn't going to post this yet. But I'm pretty happy with it, and decided to post it right away instead of waiting a day or two.  
Anyway, here it is.  
The song [more or less] for this chapter is Need You Know by Lady Antebellum.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

* * *

Chapter Nine.

Need You Now.

I felt sick.

Sick to my stomach. When I woke up I had ran for the bathroom, my stomach heaving and churning. When Alice came into check on me after a bit, I was laying on the floor, trying to find the strength to get up, and wondering if it would be safe to go lay down on my bed for a while.

"You're not sick, are you? I mean, with the flu..." Alice said, wrapping her hands protectively over her stomach-which was getting pretty huge. She was due in about two weeks-her face growing worried.

I sat up, drawing my knees under me. I was surprised to find that I actually felt okay. "No. I don't think it's the flu or anything," I said. I had felt fine last night. "I think it was just because..." I trailed off, biting my lip, as it all come flooding back. That dream. Ugh.

I'd been having it since Edward left. We'd be together, laying in bed, or in the grass, or something, happy. His arms were wrapped tightly around me-he never wanted to let go. His lips were on my hair, and I could hear his sweet voice as he told me that he loved me.

And then it would all fall apart. There were gunshots, or a bomb sometimes, an explosion that tore us apart. And hard as I tried, screaming and searching for him, I was never able to find him through the smoke and the noise.

Just remembering it made my stomach churn all over again.

"Because?" Alice asked me, concerned.

"I had a bad dream," I admitted.

She looked surprised for a minute. Then awkwardly she lowered herself down to sit on the floor beside me. I frowned at her, wondering if she should really be doing that.

"I have dreams too."

I looked up at her in surprise.

She shrugged. "They're probably a lot like yours. Jasper's...gone. Sometimes he's just gone, and I'm looking for him. Sometimes he's gone, and I'm having the baby. I'm alone, and I don't know what to do, and it all feels wrong. And I'm sure I'm going to lose the baby too. Other times I actually have the baby with me. And we're both looking for him," she sighed, and turned her head away from me. I still saw her flick the tears away from her eyes, and I felt my chest tighten and my stomach start churning even worse.

"I'm sorry," I told her softly.

She looked at me, her gray eyes glistening. "What? Why?"

"Because...because I act like Edward leaving me is the end of the world, when you're feeling just as bad. Even worse, you've got the baby. I'm sorry that Jasper's gone, that Edward's gone, that this mess happened." I was crying now.

"Oh, Bella!" She exclaimed, and she threw her tiny arms around me, and pulled me into a hug the best she could. "It's not your fault. Don't apologize. Sure I've got the baby, but I know how much you love Edward. I know how it feels. I know how it feels like the end of the world. You don't have to apologize! And the rest...there's nothing either of us can do about it, right? We just...have to make the best of it. No, we just have to _survive._"

We were both crying now.

"And anyway," she said, wiping away tears. "I still think Jasper's going to be here for the baby. I know that sounds crazy, but I just...I have this feeling. I'm not having this baby without him."

It did sound kind of crazy, but I squeezed her shoulders. "He'll be here," I assured her, even though I wasn't so sure. Maybe he would. What did I know.

She nodded, and she laughed a bit, at her, at us, at our tears. At our emotional breakdown. "We should eat breakfast."

I nodded in agreement, laughing a bit too. I wiped at my face, trying to get rid of some of the tears, and reached out to help her up to her feet.

We walked into the kitchen, and Alice went over to the cupboards. "I want something good," she announced. "How about pancakes with bacon and eggs?"

My stomach started churning again, and I knew I'd never make it to the bathroom again, so I ran to the sink.

Alice held my hair.

"This isn't good," she decided when I'd finally finished, and she'd handed me a glass of water so I could wash my mouth is.

I shrugged. "I don't know what's causing it."

She glanced over me, with a knowing look on her face that I didn't like one bit.

"What?" I asked wearily.

Her eyes ran over me again, but then she shrugged. "Nothing. C'mon, I'll make you some dry toast and tea, and then you should go lay down for a while, I think."

I couldn't help but agree.

----

A week later I had a sinking suspicion. I was still sick, usually in the mornings, and usually okay by night, even though at the mention of certain foods, or smells, I would be right back running for the bathroom. I knew this wasn't the flu, and it wasn't from those dreams either-though they certainly didn't help. But I wasn't stupid. And neither was Alice.

"Bella," she said, glancing at me. We were sitting in the living room, listening to the radio. I was sewing a baby blanket as my gift to Alice for her newborn, and she was laying on the sofa, her eyes closed, listening to the radio, her hands on her swollen stomach. "Don't get mad at me, okay?"

I looked up at her, weary. "Okay."

"I think...well...I think you might be pregnant."

"Ow!" The needle poked into my skin instead of the fabric, and I jumped. It wasn't enough to draw blood, though, and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Bella?"

I sighed again. I had started thinking about this possibility. And well, it was a possibility. It had been two months since Edward had left. It was definitely possible. And even though at this point I was fairly positive that it wasn't just possible-it was happening, I just couldn't get myself to admit it. I mean Edward and I had just gotten married. Just two months. And we hadn't even been together for most of that. And now I was having a baby?

I didn't know how Alice could deal with it. She seemed so cool and composed all the time. I mean, I knew she missed Jasper, just as much as I missed Edward. But she had no worries about the possiblity of her baby growing up without a father. And she held fast to her belief that Jasper would somehow be back for the baby's birth.

I couldn't do it though. I couldn't imagine having a baby and having Edward never coming back. I couldn't tell him over a letter, I couldn't go through this alone, and give birth to it all by myself. I wasn't that strong.

And it was looking like I'd have to be.

"Bella?" She asked again, turning on her side to look at me.

"Sorry," I apologized.

She looked at me, waiting.

"I...I don't know. I mean...yeah, it's um, very probable." I sighed, shaking my head, wondering why this was so difficult. "Yeah, um, I think I am, Alice," I admitted, and my voice shook a bit.

Her gray eyes widened in shock. "What? You really do?"

I swallowed hard and nodded. "I'm almost positive." My heart was pounding my chest, and I didn't even know why. Before I knew it, I felt a tear run down my face.

"Bella...what's wrong?" Alice asked, and suddenly she was right in front of me.

To my surprise I burst out crying. Full out sobs. "I...I'm...afraid. Oh, Alice. I'm terrified! I don't know how you can do it. How you can be so strong, how you can act like everything's okay, how you can believe that Jasper's going to come home, that he's going to be here when the baby's born. I just...I'm terrified."

She put her arms around me, and she waited until I finally gotten myself under control again. My tears finally stopped, and I stopped shaking. I took in a deep breath.

"I won't lie to you, Bella. It's not easy. It's hard. I worry about Jasper. I worry about him all the time. But...if I'm not optimistic..."

I nodded. I understood that.

She stood up, and grabbed my hand, pulling me up to my feet. "Let's go see Carlisle."

An hour later Carlisle was annoucing to Esme that she was about to have another grandchild.


	10. Belongs To You

Aha, so believe it or not, here I am with another chapter already.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I also know very little details about history so well, if it's not correct, sorry.

And thanks, as always, to everyone that reviewed. (: Since I have a lot of the next chapter written, I'll send teasers to everyone who reviews this chapter.

* * *

Chapter Ten.

Esme was thrilled to hear the news. As soon as Carlisle told her she threw her arms around me. "Oh! Bella! This is so amazing!"

I was still reeling from it all, but I managed to nod anyway.

"I'm so happy for you. And Edward."

Edward. His name made my chest tighten, and I put an arm around my ribcage, like I was trying to hold myself together or something.

Esme's smile turned to concern. "Bella...? Are you okay, dear?"

I nodded. "Yeah..I'm just...overwhelmed."

She nodded understandingly.

"What's going on...?" Rosalie asked, walking into the dinning room, where we were all sitting.

I hadn't even heard her come in. She looked at us, weary. I wasn't sure if we looked happy, shocked, or sad.

Carlisle glanced at me. "Bella's expecting."

Rosalie turned sharply to stare at me. "What? A baby?"

I nodded weakly. I felt terrible, remembering what Rosalie had told me. She and Emmett wouldn't be able to have a baby. And now both Alice and I were. I couldn't imagine how hard that would be, and as her face ran through a ton of different expressions, I wanted to reach out and say something to her. Make her feel better, somehow, anyway I could.

Her face finally settled into an expression I couldn't really read. "I'm happy for you, Bella," she said in a quiet voice. "Congratulations."

"Thank you, Rosalie," I said, softly.

She reached up to brush her hair out of her face, and I noticed her hand was trembling a bit. "I, uh, I think I left something cooking at home. I should run back and check."

I knew she needed an out, so I nodded that she should go.

Esme looked confused for a second, but agreed. "Oh, go ahead, dear. You're coming for dinner, though, right Rosalie?"

"Of course, Esme."

I smiled at her, gently as she left, hoping to convey that I understood. Maybe not what she was going through, but that she needed a minute to herself.

When she returned, just in time for dinner, she looked better, her hair pulled up neatly into a bun, and her face composed. While Esme and Alice set the table, she came over to me and hugged me. "I really am happy for you, Bella. Really."

I was ready to cry all over again as I hugged her back. "Thanks, Rose."

"I bet you can't wait to tell Edward," she said matter of factly.

I shook my head. "Not...really. I mean, I am. I just...this is big news. I wish I didn't have to tell him through a letter. I wish it was in person, just the two of us..."

She nodded in understanding. "Well, who knows. It's not like you have to write him right this second."

What was with the Cullen woman and believing that everything would work out? I wondered if when I was around longer, if I would be the same way. I hoped so.

---

I was putting off writing Edward. I knew I should write him and tell him about the baby, but even as I sat down and tried to write, the words just wouldn't come out right. How could you tell someone something so big, so important, so life changing, over a letter? I couldn't find the words, couldn't make them come out right.

And as for me...it still hadn't sunk in. I was still having morning sickness, a lot of morning sickness. Not to mention 'every other time of the day sickness' and I didn't feel like eating much of anything. Carlisle had assured me that it would go away pretty soon, and that day couldn't come soon enough. But even though that was so real, it still seemed like a dream, not something that was really happening.

"Are you ready to go?" Alice asked, coming up behind me, shrugging into a purple sweater that matched her white dress with liliac colored flowers. In her hand was her letter to Jasper.

"Just a second," I said, stuffing my letter into the envelope, and licking the seal. I wrote letters to Edward everyday, and like every other letter since I found out about the baby, I hadn't said anything about it. Instead I wrote about how Alice was doing, how Rosalie and his parents, and my parents were doing-I hadn't told them about the baby yet, either. I talked about the weather-rainy-and how much I missed him, and wished he was here.

I grabbed my brown coat, and put the letter into my pocket. I linked arms with Alice, and we walked out into the light, drizzling rain, for our daily walk to the post office. It wasn't far, and it was good exercise for both of us, especially Alice.

"Would you rather have a boy or a girl?" Alice asked, suddenly, as we walked.

I was surprised for a second, we hadn't really talked about my baby thus far. "Oh. A boy, I guess."

"Really." She sounded surprised.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I want a boy, just...you know, in case," I bit my lip, because I hated thinking like that...

She nodded in understanding. "I think I'm having a boy. I just...I have this feeling," she smiled. Alice was always having 'feelings'.

I smiled, because I hoped she had a boy for the same reason I wanted one.

"Does Jasper want a boy?"

She bobbed her head. "Oh, yes! I mean, he told me he'd be happy with a girl too, of course, but I can tell he really wants a boy."

"I wonder if Edward would want a boy or a girl," I mused. We had only been married for two weeks, we had never really gotten into the subject of kids. We had talked about how we wanted some, of course, but never how many, or when, or anything like that.

She shrugged. "He probably would tell you he just wants a healthy baby, and it doesn't matter."

I smiled. "Probably." That did sound like Edward.

"Have you told him yet?"

I shook my head. "No. Not yet. I will soon," I promised. "It's still a long while before it's born, I have plenty of time to tell him."

She looked indifferent, even though I knew she thought I should just tell him, at the same time she understood why I didn't want to yet. She rubbed her hands over her stomach and smiled.

I looked at her questioningly, and she grabbed my hand and put it over her stomach. "He's kicking."

I could feel the movement under my hand, a little nudge against Alice's stomach, and my hand, and a smile tugged at my lips. There was a baby in her, a real baby, that was about to be born. Just like there was a baby in me. A little tiny, but beautiful and perfect baby.

Edward's baby.

It hit me then. Really hit me. I was going to be a mother. Edward was going to be a father. We were going to have a baby. A he or she, because I couldn't be like Alice and just decide it was a he or she, at least, not yet, that would be just...perfect.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I laughed a bit-because they were tears of joy-and I felt a few run down my cheeks, but I didn't brush them away.

Alice was staring at me. "What's wrong, Bella?"

"Nothing!" I cried. "Nothing. I'm having a baby."

She looked at me like I was crazy.

"I'm really having a baby. There is a baby inside me."

"Yes?"

"I just realized it...for the first time. It's...it's real."

A smile spread across her face, and she hugged me. "Yes, it is real!" she agreed, and she laughed. "It's amazing, isn't it?"

I nodded, still crying. I put a hand across my stomach.

_I already love you. I don't know how I can already love you, but I do. I love you so much. _

Alice started crying too, and we cried and laughed together. Finally we pulled ourselves together-mostly because the rain was really coming down now, and we finished our walk to the post office. We handed our letters over to Jessica Newton, who was working at the post office while her husband, Mike was overseas too.

"Oh, hey!" she announced. "You two have letters!" She held one out to each of us, and I felt my heart leap as I all but ripped it out of her hand.

I saw Edward's handwriting on the front, and it was all I could do not to start crying again. I ripped it open, because I knew I could never wait until we got home. I pulled the letter out, my heart a lump in my throat as I read his wonderful handwriting, reading his words, touching the paper that he had touched. I scanned the letter first, some words jumping out at me.

_I have great news. I'm coming home. Not for good, I'm afraid, love. But for two whole weeks. Two whole weeks I get to be with you. I'll be home on the twentieth. I love you more than anything. I can't wait to see you, Bella. _

He was going to be home. In just a week and a half. Just ten days.

I burst into tears again.

* * *

I'm sorry if it's really cliche...but that's kind of the point, I guess.


	11. Home

Okay, so I was going to combine this with Chapter 12, but in the end I decided just to post it, so I could it out there. It's on the shorter side, but Chapter 12 is looking like it's going to be long, so hopefully that'll make for it. And oh yeah, Edward's home. (:

I have fair for the next few days, so it'll be next week before there's an update.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight and I know practically nothing about world war 2, just so you know.

* * *

Chapter Eleven.

Home.

On the nineteeth I moved back into my house, temporarily, for the next two weeks. I would stay with Alice again once Jasper, Edward, and Emmett had left, and help her take care of the baby, which was sure to have been born by then, and so she could keep an eye on me, too.

If I had been happy about the news about them coming home, it had been nothing compared to Alice. She had spent the last nine days praying that the baby wouldn't come before he got here. "Just wait till the twentieth. Then you can come. You can come anytime you want," she'd said over and over again, running her hands over her stomach. But somehow we both knew that the baby would wait.

I spent all day cleaning my already spotless house. I had already helped Alice clean hers before I moved most of my things back over to my house. I put everything away, dusted, polished and shined everything. I wanted everything to be perfect, and it also helped take my mind off the last few hours that were taking forever.

We were meeting the train tomorrow morning.

I would be able to tell Edward about the baby in person.

Tomorrow night we were all having a big family dinner, my parents, his parents, Rosalie and Emmett, Jasper and Alice, as long as she felt up too it. The idea of us all being together again like that, like we hadn't since my wedding, happy, was completely amazing.

Once the house was beyond order, and I had ran down to Alice's to make sure she was okay, and stopped in to say hello to my parents just for something to do-I still hadn't told them about the baby. I planned on telling them after I told Edward-I came home and crawled into bed, surprised to find that I actually was exhausted. I couldn't wait till morning.

Edward.

When I woke up in the morning I felt sick to my stomach again. I had been feeling pretty good the last few days, and I was praying that it had passed, but here was my morning sickness again.

_I love you baby. But we're going to go see your father in a just about an hour, and I really need to look presentable, and it'd be really nice not to have explain why I'm throwing up right off. I want to tell him, and I want it to be perfect. Romantic and all that. _I pleaded with it.

My stomach did calm a bit, and I took a quick bath and changed into a deep blue dress that Edward loved on me. My hair dried into it's normal curls, and I left it down, because he liked it that way. I found a pair of low blue heels, and slipped them on too. I hated that it was raining, and I had to put on my old brown coat, but I didn't dwell on that very long.

Alice and I walked to the station together, meeting Rosalie there. Esme and Carlisle had told us to go on ahead, that they'd have plenty of time to see us all later.

So here we were, waiting on the platform. My stomach was jumping around-to be honest, I wasn't sure if it was nerves or if I was still experiencing my morning sickness-and my heart was pounding in my chest.

Every second felt like forever.

Alice had her arm through mine, and she was literally _bouncing _beside me, and how she managed to do that, that pregnant, I'll never know.

Rosalie looked more patient. She was standing on the other side of me, our arms brushing against each other. She kept running her fingers through her hair, and checking her reflection in her compact.

We could hear the train in the distance, _finally _and it felt like my heart might beat out of my chest. And then it was closer, and closer, and finally we could _see _it.

It felt like forever as it pulled into the station, and finally came to a stop. People started coming out, a few people I knew, a lot of people I didn't, and then finally I saw Emmett, in his green uniform, stepping out onto the platform. Rosalie jumped forward, all but running to him, and he caught up with her, and she threw herself into his arms, and he spun her around.

I looked away then, turning back to look at the door.

A few more people got off. Then Jasper came out, his eyes full of love as he took in his pregnant wife. He looked relived that the baby hadn't been born yet.

And finally, finally, there was Edward.

He looked as amazing, and handsome, and wonderful as always. His bronze hair was messy as ever, his eyes even greener than I remembered. My heart thudded in my chest, and then I was running forward, to him. I wasn't aware of anything around me, any of the people, it was just me and him.

He caught me as I reached him, and I felt his hands, so familiar, around my waist. He lifted me off my feet as I tossed my arms around his neck, and held on tight. I buried my head into his shoulder, breathing in his scent. I missed it. I missed him.

I was crying, I was so happy.

"Oh, Bella. Bella, Bella, love," he murmured into my neck, and I shivered as I felt his lips there. "I can't believe it's you. It's really you."

"It's really me. It's really you," I said.

He laughed then, and his lips met mine. I closed my eyes and kissed him back with my enthusiasm than I probably ever had before. I wanted to stay like this forever, to always remember and feel his lips on me, to taste him, and touch him.

Edward was home.

---

I never wanted to let go of him. Even after we finished our greeting-because well, our kiss was getting a little far for public, and we stopped embracing, I clung tightly to his hand, my head close to his shoulder. I had to touch him, had to make sure he was real, that he was really here.

However, the baby had other ideas, and as we walked into the train station, all of six of us, happy and smiling and talking, I felt that all too familar feeling in my stomach, and I let go of Edward's hand and ran for the Ladies' room, leaving Edward staring at me with a stunned confused expression.

I felt terrible, but watching me lose my breakfast in the middle of the train station probably wouldn't impress him too much either.

Rosalie came in a moment later, coming in, and brushing my hair from my face.

"Is Edward upset?" I asked, sitting up, and curling my arms around my stomach, miserably.

She smiled a bit, and shook her head. "Of course not, Bella. Alice explained that you've been...feeling a bit...under the weather, and that, yes, Carlisle's checked you out, and you're just fine," she explained, and I nodded gratefully.

"Do you think you feel well enough to get up?" she asked me.

I shrugged, because my stomach was still rolling a bit, but I didn't want to sit in here while Edward was out there, _so close. _

She helped me to my feet, and I washed my mouth out before we headed back to the others. Edward came over to me, and put his arms around me.

"Are you okay?" he asked me, his forehead creasing with worry.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine now. Sorry."

He kissed my forehead. "There's nothing to be sorry for, love," he assured me. "I just hope you're okay."

"Fine," I reassured him, leaning into him, breathing him in.

He smiled at me, putting his arm around my shoulders, keeping me close, which is where I wanted to stay.

Forever.

* * *

I have a teaser for the chapter 12 for everyone who reviews. It'll probably be Sunday before I can reply to reviews though.


	12. Miracles

Wow, so this chapter took forever, and I'm so sorry about that. Serious writers block. I thought I had it all planned out, but when it came to actually writing it, it just wasn't working. I've probably rewritten the beginning of this chapter five or six times, and finally decided to go with it and continue on the with the story. [and if there's a few parts that are sketchy, I apologize. I wrote this in the middle of the night and seriously fell asleep mid type near the end.] I've also figured out that we're looking at about ten more chapters, possibly a few more. I'm not planning on dragging it out forever. Anyway, thanks to whoever reviewed and favorited and just read the last chapter. Hope you guys are still here and ready to read this chapter!

If things aren't like they really would have been back then....well, I honestly had no idea how things would have been done. Remember, all I know is what I saw on The Waltons and a few other movies, and what I've read in school.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. The plot though? It's all mine.

* * *

Chapter Twelve.

At seven sharp we arrived at the Carlisle and Esme's house. Everyone was here, Emmett and Rosalie, Alice and Jasper, Mr. and Mrs. Hale and my own parents.

Edward and I walked through the gate together, his hand entwined with mine. I couldn't stop staring at him. He was here. He was really here.

And tonight I was going to tell him about the baby.

Esme all but ran over to us when we walked into the backyard. They hugged, and she held him, crying. I squeezed his hand and let go of it, turning to latch the gate.

"You're really here," Esme sobbed.

I walked past them to where my parents were sitting, wanting to give them some time alone. Carlisle was walking forward towards his son too, and they needed to have their reunion, like I had gotten mine.

I sat down at the table across from my parents. They didn't know about the baby either. I wanted to tell Edward first. I was excited that after tonight I would be able to tell them though.

Mom grinned at me. "You look wonderful, honey."

I felt much better than I had in the morning. My morning sickness had subsided, and I felt just fine. I smiled back at her. "I can't believe he's home."

She brushed a lock of brown hair out of her face and continued to smile at me.

"He looks well."

"He does," I agreed, following her eyes to where Edward was now talking to Carlisle, both of them grinning.

No one said anything about them leaving, and I was grateful for that. I was trying not to think about that until I had to. I was just going to enjoy Edward being here as much as I could.

Dinner was wonderful. Everyone was there and everyone was happy. The food was wonderful too, not that anyone noticed that part. My own parents and the Hale's left after dinner, but the rest of us remained long into the night.

"Hey, Bella," Jasper said, coming over to standing beside me.

I smiled at him. He looked well, happy to be with Alice. "Hi, Jasper."

He smiled back at me. "I wanted to thank you for taking such good care of Alice. I was really worried about her being alone with the baby."

"Oh, it's no problem. She's helped me out just as much," I assured him. I didn't know what I would have done without Alice.

He smiled, and I followed his gaze. He was staring at Alice, who was talking to Edward. Her stomach was huge, and she really was about to have that baby any minute.

"I can't believe she hasn't had it yet," he said.

I laughed. "That baby would dare have come without you here."

He turned back to me and grinned. "She thinks it's a boy."

"It is a boy."

"I can tell you've been living with her," he said, his blue eyes light, happy.

I couldn't help but laugh. "She tends to rub off on you, I guess."

"That she does," his voice full of affection.

Edward approached us, smiling at me. He came over to stand beside me and I grabbed his hand and smiled back up at him.

"It's good to be back," he sighed happily.

Jasper nodded in agreement. "That it is."

There was a cry across the yard and we all jumped and turned to look. Alice was bent over, arms around her stomach, her eyes wide with surprise. Carlisle was rushing to her side, and as soon as he could register what was happening Jasper was rushing forward too.

"I think I'm having contractions," she said, staring up at Jasper.

"We need to get her to the hospital," Carlisle said, taking charge. I'll go get the car, Jasper you run back to your house and get her things. We'll take her over now."

Jasper nodded, looking surprisingly calm for the situation at hand. But that was Jasper. He always stayed calm and cool no matter what was happening. Which was exactly what Alice needed.

She squeezed his hand. "Jasper..."

He smiled softly at her, and reached over to kiss her forehead. "I'll be right behind you, sweetheart. Just got with your Dad, okay?"

She sighed, and nodded, and he kissed her again before heading at a jog in the direction of their house.

"Come on, honey," Carlisle said, helping her to the car. Edward went ahead of them to open the door, and helped ease Alice into the backseat.  
"We'll come over, just as soon as we can," Edward promised, smiling at his older sister.

She nodded, and Esme and got into the passengers seat, before Carlisle pulled out of the driveway towards the hospital, leaving the four of us, Edward and I, Rosalie and Emmett, standing there, still a bit stunned that all this was happening.

"Wow," I finally said, breaking the silence. "I can't believe she's finally _having it._"

Edward wrapped his waist around mine, his hand resting on what he would soon find out was his baby. Our baby. I smiled.

"Come on, let's go back to our house for a bit, and then we'll head over to the hospital. No sense rushing, I'm sure it'll take a while."

I nodded in agreement and Rosalie and Emmett decided that they would do the same, and we'd all go over to the hospital together in a little bit.

Edward and I walked back to our house, his arm still wrapped around my waist. I wanted to tell him then, about the baby, but the timing still wasn't right. I would wait until it was perfect. I had waited forever to be able to tell him about the baby, and I was going to make sure it was right.

In the house I changed into a black skirt and royal blue shirt. I brushed my hair into a ponytail and washed my face. I was feeling a little bit ill again, but I wasn't about to let that stop me for being there when Alice's baby was born.

Edward changed too, into a pair of jeans and plaid shirt. His hair was a mess, and my heart thudded at the sight of him. He was perfect. He was mine.

I all but threw myself at him, pressing my lips against his. He laughed against my lips, his arms wrapping around my waist as he caught me. His laughter subsided quick though, and a second later he was kissing me back. We knew we should get to the hospital, but Alice probably wouldn't notice if we were late.

--

"How is she?" Edward asked, his fingers entwined with mine as we walked into the hospital. Jasper was sitting in the waiting room with Carlisle.

"Nothing yet," Jasper said, and for the first time he actually looked sort of nervous. He ran a hand over his blond hair, which stuck up in all directions. "The doctor said it's going to be soon though. Apparently our baby's been waitin' long enough."

I sat down next to Jasper and grinned at him. "He has," I agreed. "His daddy's here and he's ready to met everyone." I reached over and squeezed his hand.

He squeezed my hand back and smiled back at me. He didn't say thank you with words, but I knew that he was thankful for my comment. He reached over to kiss my forehead and stood up. "I should get back in there with her."

We all nodded in agreement and tossed out words of encouragement for him and Alice as he disappeared into the hallway to be with his wife.

Edward sat down beside me, and draped his arm around my shoulder, leaning over to kiss my cheek. "I love you Bella Cullen," he murmured, and I felt goosebumps on my arms.

"I love you too, Edward Cullen." _More than you'll ever know. _

He smiled. "Someday we'll be doing this. You'll be in the one in the hospital room, and I'll be the nervous guy walking around about to become a daddy."

I bit my lip, thinking about just how soon that would be happening. "I can't wait," I said softly, and he smiled so sweetly back at me that it made my heart ache.

I seriously didn't know what I would do when this man had to leave me again.

But I wasn't going to think about him leaving. I would just drive myself crazy if I did. I pressed those thoughts down quickly and turned into him to rest my head on his chest, feeling the rise and fall as he breathed. It was one of the most comforting feelings in the world, and I settled back to wait for news on my little nephew.

We waited. And we waited. And we waited. And we waited some more. Rosalie and Emmett even fell asleep in the waiting room, leaning against each other unsteadily. Emmett was snoring lately, and I couldn't help but grin every time he did.

"Didn't Jasper say it was going to be anytime?" I asked, only half-awake. I didn't really _ask _so much as mumbled into his chest.

"Yeah, like four hours ago," Edward replied, sounding equally as tired. He was talking against my hair, and I smiled against his plaid shirt. "Clearly that wasn't the case."

"Alice's baby would have a dramatic entrance to the world," I decided.

Edward laughed. "I wouldn't expect it any other way."

We both laughed. Once our laughter subsided I leaned into his chest again, inhaling his sweet scent. I was in Edward's arms, for the first time in so long, I didn't care if I was in some cramped uncomfortable waiting room. I was about to fall asleep, and I was probably going to sleep better than I had since he left.

I felt his lips press aganist my hair and I couldn't remember the last time I was _this _happy. I smiled against his shirt, my eyes flicking closed.

Maybe I fell asleep. I wasn't sure. If I did, though, it was only for a few minutes before Jasper burst into the waiting room, the biggest grin I've ever seen on his face. "It's a boy!"

I sat up, laughing as the news set in. "Of course it is!"

Jasper laughed, and came over to me, and hugged me. "I can't believe it. He's perfect. Alice is perfect."

I hugged him back. "I'm sure he's the most perfect baby boy ever," I assured Jasper.

"Do you guys want to see? The nurse said to keep it down, but if you guys go, and then Rosalie and Emmett...just you know, be quiet. Don't upset her. Don't say anything stupid."

I laughed and grabbed Edward's hand, following Jasper back to Alice's room.

Alice was tucked in, in bed, looking awfully small and fragile-more so than usual. Her hair was messy and all over the place. I could honestly say that was the first time I had ever seen Alice looking like that. But I hardly noticed any of this, because she looked so _happy. _Tired and frail, maybe, but _so _happy. Her lips were pulled up into a wide grin, and her gray eyes twinkled as she stared at the bundle wrapped in a blue blanket in her arms.

She looked up at us, beaming. "Come meet JC Witlock."

"JC?" Edward questioned, as the two of us came closer.

She nodded proudly. "Yes. Jasper Carlisle Whitlock. JC for short."

I came over to the bed and peered down at the baby.

My nephew.

He was perfect. Utterly tiny, and still rather red, but just...perfect. He had tufts of Alice's black hair, and pretty pale blue eyes. JC was stunning.

"Oh, Alice," I breathed. "He's perfect."

She grinned back at me happily. "I was right. He waited for his daddy, and he was a boy."

I grinned back at her. "Of course you were right."

Edward came to stand beside me, glancing down at JC. He smiled that great crooked smile. "You did okay, sis."

She rolled her eyes, but smiled, touching JC's little tiny hand. "I can't believe it. He's real. He's mine. He's ours," she looked up at Jasper and their expressions were filled with love. I knew instantly that this baby was going to be so spoiled and so loved.

I smiled, and glanced at Edward, who was looking at his nephew with wonder and excitement, and suddenly I knew I was ready. I knew I was ready to tell him about the baby. We talked with Alice and Jasper for a few more minutes before it was Emmett and Rosalie's turn. I hoped that Rosalie would be okay with everything, and I made a mental note to go over tomorrow and check on her, try to cheer her up if necessary. I knew she would be happy for Alice, but this had to be hard.

Edward offered that we could stay a while, but Alice shoo'ed us away telling us that she'd be fine, and we'd all see her tomorrow We said our goodbyes to Rosalie and Emmett, and Carlisle and Esme, and finally made our way back to our house.

We were both tired, but happy and excited about JC's additon to the family.

"He's so beautiful," I sighed happily, crawling under the covers, thrilled that I would get to spend the night in Edward's arms.

Edward nodded in agreement, leaning over to turn off the lights. Then he leaned over and kissed my shoulder, working his way up my neck and jaw bones.

His touch and lips made me shiver, but as I pictured JC in my head, and the happy looks on Jasper and Alice's face, I knew it was time to tell him.

"I have something to tell you," I said. I did hate to interrupt him.

"Hmm?" He asked, his nose skimming over my cheek.

I shuddered in happiness. I turned so that I was facing him, looking at him. "We're going to have a baby."

He stared at me for a minute. And then he blinked three times. "What?"

I smiled. "A baby, Edward. You and me. Our baby."

He turned to look at my stomach. "You're...?" he reached a hand out hesitantly, and I laughed taking it and pressing it against my stomach.

"Yes, Edward. We're going to be parents. I've known for a couple of weeks, but when I heard you were coming home I decided to wait so I could tell you in person, and not in a letter."

A smile spread slowly over his face, and soon he was doing that crooked smile. "I'm going to be a Dad. You're going to be a Mom."

I grinned back at him. "Yes. We are."

He laughed, sliding his hands over my hips. "I love you so much. I can't believe this. It's amazing."

"I love you too. So much!" I was starting to cry, because I was just so happy. I leaned my head into his shoulder, and we both cried and laughed together.

We were going to be parents.


End file.
